


The Pancake King

by AceOfSpace



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: Jedi Quest Series - Jude Watson
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Artoo is a Cat, Inspired by the Massive Modern AU that I'll probably never write in full, Multi, Rated T for language and innuendo, Roommates, the morning after
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-21
Updated: 2016-08-21
Packaged: 2018-08-10 03:06:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7828027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AceOfSpace/pseuds/AceOfSpace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was an unspoken rule of unknown origin, likely one that had been formed while they were both hungover. If one of them was to get lucky during a night out, the other one would make pancakes for the morning after. It was simple. Thinking about it made Ferus smile, for it usually worked in his favour. In fact, it almost always worked in his favour.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Pancake King

**Author's Note:**

  * For [peachobiwan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/peachobiwan/gifts).



> This is dedicated to Liz, the captain of Skyolin and a wonderful, treasured friend of mine, to celebrate her birthday. I hope you enjoy this fic as much as I've enjoyed talking to you about it xoxo
> 
> EDIT 24/9/16 - 'Roan' replaced with 'Siri', to better align with sequel fic, 'Delusional'.

_Two eggs. One teaspoon of vanilla essence. Mix with one and three quarter cups of milk in a medium-sized bowl._

He peeled his eyes away from the smartphone screen, confident that he would remember what he had just read. Against the rim of a ceramic bowl, he cracked two eggs clean in half, spilling their contents inside it before whisking them fervently with a fork. The vanilla-scented tincture was added with utmost precision, whereas the milk was poured in with much less care. Thankfully, the spill that adorned the countertop narrowly avoided his phone, for as much as he didn’t want to admit it, he was going to have trouble getting ingredient amounts right without the recipe in front of him.

It had been a while since Ferus had made pancakes. The thought of it made him laugh under his breath, almost making him lose control as he mixed the wet and dry batter components together. 

Poor Anakin, he thought to himself with a smile. Poor, unfortunate, lonely Anakin.

The golden streak of his otherwise dark hair dangled in front of his eyes as he intently watched the frying pan. Not entirely confident in himself as a cook, he wanted to make sure that no batter or hot oil would splash out on his skin. It was important that each pancake turned out perfectly _because_ he made them so rarely. Not like Anakin. As messy as he could get in the kitchen, there was no doubt that he was a whiz when he used it in the mornings. Especially on weekends. Especially after they’d been out. The guy had cooked for Ferus so many times that he could probably open up a bed and breakfast if he ever got sick of his day job.

It was an unspoken rule of unknown origin, likely one that had been formed while they were both hungover. If one of them was to get lucky during a night out, the other one would make pancakes for the morning after. It was simple. Thinking about it made Ferus smile, for it usually worked in his favour. In fact, it almost always worked in his favour. 

For Anakin, not so much. He had a habit of being over-confident, using dated pick-up lines and punny innuendo before being quickly shot down. He was much better at the bar scene when he didn’t talk so much. After all, he was rather good-looking, if Ferus had any say in it. He was six foot two, athletic, with piercing blue eyes you could get lost in, and a stellar smile. Totally not Ferus’ type.

Still, he must have been somebody’s type last night. After all, he was the one getting treated to breakfast.

Typically, there was very much an ‘every man for himself’ mentality in the apartment that they shared, but this was the one exception. They had known each other as teenagers, and now they worked at the same university, albeit doing very different jobs. Cohabitation seemed like the most convenient thing, when in fact on most days, they merely tolerated each other. Ferus tolerated the way Anakin left empty containers in the fridge as a reminder to visit the store. He stayed quiet about Anakin’s habit of either overloading the dishwasher or turning it on when it was only half full. He silently put up with Artoo, the black and white kitten who loved Anakin like a deity while he blatantly detested everyone else. In fact, there were so many of Anakin’s mannerisms that he took notice of and let irk him to the point where he wondered why he continued to be his roommate. Still, he didn’t like the idea of him not being there, and so he stayed.

He was most certainly not Anakin’s best friend, but he was cooking with such care and attention, even decorating the table in a way that suggested he could have been. The flat, doughy pancakes were stacked precisely atop each other and laden with a symmetrical arrangement of strawberries. Icing sugar was dusted ever so delicately across the surface and around the edge of the plate, with tiny pitchers of maple syrup kept to one side. The two dishes looked identical; one for Anakin, and one for his company.

Ferus was rather proud of how everything turned out, to the point where he even considered taking a photo of the table. A skinny vase was placed as a centrepiece; in it a single, red carnation. The gingham tablecloth and folded napkins made it look like a picnic setting. He couldn’t help but pat himself on the back. Anakin was going to be floored by his incredible talents.

That was, of course, whenever he decided to wake up.

He hadn’t quite thought that through.

Minutes passed.

After initially standing attentively at the dining table, Ferus eventually moved to the kitchen counter, upon which he leant lazily and occasionally peered towards the door to Anakin’s room. He played a smartphone game with one hand while he ate hazelnut spread from a spoon with the other. He’d also tentatively covered his breakfast masterpieces with deep-set noodle bowls to keep them warm; they weren’t rich or fancy enough to warrant closhes.

Suddenly, after what felt like an eternity despite being about fifteen minutes. Ferus heard the shaking of a metal handle before a tiny creaking sound gave way to the wooden door opening. His posture straightened instantly, and a devilish grin made itself clear on his lips. 

Eyes squinted from not being acquainted with the daylight, out stepped Anakin Skywalker, clearly half-asleep, his body bare aside from a gently held sheet that only just gave him modesty. He stammered a few feet from the door and stared confused at the kitchen table. 

Did he forget that their agreement went both ways? Had it really been that long? Ferus was surprised, knowing that Anakin didn’t usually forget much, if anything. He put it down to the fact that his roommate was clearly not awake. Still, he thought it was rather cute.

“Hello, stud,” he teased before taking another spoonful of hazelnut spread into his mouth.

There was a groan, then a moment of realisation. 

“ _Fuck me_ ,” replied Anakin, ever the morning person. He then clutched the sheet that dangled around his hips more tightly. 

Ferus absolutely did not pout. It was a tempting offer. 

“Right now?” he playfully asked with a waggle of his eyebrows, a noticeable sparkle in his gaze. “But we have company! Aren’t you worried about getting caught? Or are you into that?” Ferus chuckled to himself, then shook his head. It was only a joke to rile Anakin up, of course. Mostly.

He was not met with an answer, but instead, an intense stare, likely the most Anakin could muster after being awake for a whole five minutes. 

“Check it out; I made breakfast,” Ferus remarked, gesturing with his spoon to the two set chairs at the table. “I made some for you, and some for your special lady friend. I even set it up all nice.” He shrugged after figuring that his words had fallen on deaf ears. “I’m wonderful, I know.”

Anakin flared his nostrils and looked towards the floor, while Ferus remained contrastingly chipper.

“So which one of you is ‘Annie’?”

Blue eyes widened in embarrassment.

“Oh, no...”

“It’s you, isn’t it?” he was barely containing his laughter as he spoke. 

“Ferus, I swear to God-”

“Oh, _Annie!_ ” Ferus imitated, his voice suddenly a good octave higher. His hands were held up theatrically and his head tilted back, dark eyes comically wide as the grin on his face threatened to hurt his cheeks. “Right there! Don’t stop, Annie! Mmm, so good!”

“I thought you were out,” rasped Anakin, discreetly trying to change the subject.

“Oh, I was!” Ferus answered, matter-of-factly, his entire face lit up like a child who’d just won a spelling bee. “If you call the balcony ‘out’.” His eyes wandered to a sliding glass door beyond the living area, through which was a narrow standing platform, home to two flimsy lawn chairs. “You did a really good job looking around. There was an eclipse last night too, by the way,” he added “not that you would have paid attention. But yeah, I heard everything. Siri heard a bit, too, when she called.”

By this point, Anakin had already turned on his heels and was retreating back into his room, presumably where his date was sleeping.

“Oh, while you’re in there,” Ferus piped up, “can you ask the lovely lady if she’d prefer tea or coffee with her breakfast?”

He groaned in response before the door clicked shut. About a minute later, it opened the tiniest fraction, just so that Anakin’s head could poke through and into Ferus’ line of sight.

“She’ll have a coffee with cream and no sugar, thank you.” A pause. “The ‘thank you’ is not from me.”

“Alright, and the usual for you, then? Black like your tortured soul?”

“Shut the fuck up, Ferus.”

His lips turned smugly upwards in response. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

There was another groan, and the door was shut once again. 

In the time that they’d been talking, Artoo had awoken from his slumber and had crept towards the commotion, perching himself atop an armchair that was near Anakin’s room. Upon realising that his master had shut himself into seclusion, the black and white Tonkinese automatically sought blame in Ferus, glaring at him and hissing in his general direction.

It was commonplace for him to behave in such a way until Anakin returned. At Artoo’s annoyance, Ferus simply hissed back.

The cat’s disposition changed drastically once Anakin re-emerged. It was almost as if a new life entirely had been breathed into Artoo, and suddenly a large burden had been lifted from atop his furry shoulders. The world wasn’t ending. He had a purpose for being. Anakin was back in the living room, and suddenly everything was right in the world once again. Artoo purred with glee before he gracefully jumped from the armchair, his thin tail pointing towards the ceiling. He then proceeded to follow his master to the set table, grazing his body affectionately against his shins.

Ferus wordlessly offered his roommate a steaming black coffee, his facial expression suggesting that he ought to start drinking fast. A mug for the lady was set beside him, and he took a third cup into his own hands. He looked Anakin up and down, taking note of the baggy grey t-shirt and old sweatpants he had on, and wondered as to why he’d taken so long to get dressed. He must have been exhausted. Either that, or he was just that reluctant to leave his room. Of course, it was the delectable smell of breakfast that had coaxed him out. Ferus was sure of that.

A hand extended as he gestured for Anakin to sit, then he stepped back to take a sip of a coffee he’d made for himself. 

“Is she coming?” Ferus asked, discreetly pushing the hazelnut spread jar to one side.

“She’s getting dressed.” Anakin’s voice was a little clearer. He seemed disinterested to be saying much.

Ferus’ eyes widened in disbelief. He felt like he’d been waiting an eternity. If he had made cereal, it all would have been a disgustingly sloppy mess by now.

“Still?” he half-whined, “Just get her to pull on one of your shirts and get out here. Everything’s gonna get cold.” He shrugged. “Besides, I want to meet her.” He pulled the hazelnut spread jar towards him once more, not particularly caring if Anakin saw him eating straight from it. “I want to know what makes her tick, and what her intentions are with you, but most of all-” he started theatrically gesturing with his spoon once more- “how the hell you managed to get her over here in the first place. Did you ask her if it hurt when she fell from heaven or something? You know, the absolute peak of your flirting repertoire.”

Anakin’s lips pursed, and he looked away. Ferus almost choked on thin air.

“ _No!_ ” Tears were starting to form in Ferus’ eyes as he refrained from laughing. “That actually worked?! I can’t believe it!” He took a moment to catch his breath, the same that had been stolen from him as he imagined the painfully hilarious scenario. “You even used your words and you still-” Ferus sighed. “It must be great being so pretty.”

Anakin’s posture visibly improved as he noticed the compliment. “You think I’m pretty?” 

“Just shut up and eat your damn pancakes.”

Ferus watched intently as his roommate shrugged, then lifted the deep noodle bowl and set it beside the plate that held his breakfast. He analysed Anakin’s expression as he seemed to look at the stacked pancakes from every possible angle, holding his chin while his gaze frequented between the dish in front of him, and Ferus’ anticipatory stare.

Eventually, he picked up the tiny pitcher filled with maple syrup, poured it generously over the pancakes, and took a bite.

“You made these?” Anakin asked, an eyebrow raised.

“Yeah.”

A pause. “Not bad.”

Ferus managed not to scoff. _Not bad._ If he had any say in it, his culinary skills were incredible. Masterful. Phenomenal. Of course, he hadn’t actually tried anything that he’d cooked this morning, but it was a feeling he had in his gut. Getting a review as miserable as ‘not bad’ was akin to being slapped in the face, thought Ferus, especially when he pondered the fact that he’d actually put in the effort to assemble everything. On the matter, however, he was going to remain silent. Anakin wasn’t awake enough for a fight between them to be fair, anyway. 

Instead, he decided to avert the discussion to something else, hoping it would distract him from wondering what his roommate really thought of the food.

“So you’re not gonna ask me how _my_ evening was?”

Anakin narrowed his eyes as if to suggest that there wouldn’t be much substance in such a conversation.

“What?” he retorted, annoyed, “Didn’t you just, I dunno, sit on your ass and invade my privacy?”

“You overestimate the thickness of the walls, alright?” insisted Ferus before taking a sip from his coffee, which was steadily getting colder as the minutes went by. “You didn’t notice anything in the bathroom? Or the living room?”

“No…?” Anakin answered mid-yawn, indicating that he likely couldn’t care less.

“I cleaned the entire place,” he announced matter-of-factly, “and I did all your laundry again.”

The clang of Anakin’s fork against his plate rang throughout the entire apartment. Suddenly, it seemed that after twenty minutes or so existing in a tranquil, dreamy state, he was finally awake. His jaw dropped and his blue eyes widened in shock. He even looked offended, or at least, more offended than he’d looked before.

“I said I was gonna do it!” It was the loudest he’d spoke all morning.

“That was four days ago,” coolly responded Ferus.

“Yeah, well _you_ keep saying that you want to watch me do the laundry because you can’t trust me to do it by myself, apparently.” Anakin’s movements were getting more theatrical as he became more alert. His facial expressions became more animated and his arms moved to emphasise particular words.

“That’s because you overuse the detergent,” he began, “you overuse bleach, you never zip things up correctly so the teeth end up snagging on everything else, not to mention that you always put button-up shirts in the washing machine with the buttons already done up so they just end up falling off really prematurely.”

“So why are you complaining if I’m so bad at it?” Anakin was clearly agitated, to the point where he was neglecting his food.

“Because you need to learn!” Ferus threw his face into his palm, eventually dragging his fingers down his chin before his hand collided with the kitchen bench top. “Seriously, you’ve done it _twice_ since you’ve moved in! Honestly, how did you survive before?”

“I’d do it more if you weren’t so anal about it!”

Their argument came to an abrupt halt as the sound of the front door closing cut above their voices. It seemed that Anakin’s lady friend had managed to slip by them, and out of the apartment, without so much as making an impression. Both of them were silenced, their heads instead turning simultaneously towards the door. Ferus could only wonder as to why of all moments, he had chosen the minutes prior to be so passionate about the way they delegated household chores.

“Shit!” Anakin was already half out of his seat.

“Oh, would you look at that,” Ferus commented, seemingly nonchalant about the entire situation despite being rather shocked.

“This is _your_ fault!” He accused, sternly pointing a finger in Ferus’ direction before bounding towards the front door.

Ferus watched on intently as his roommate almost tripped over a throw rug on his way to the entrance, forcefully pushed his way into the hallway before shutting himself out for about thirty seconds. He could only wonder as to why Anakin was acting so ruffled, but when he thought about how long it had been since he’d fixed him a pancake breakfast, he started to gain some understanding.

Anakin re-entered the apartment, making his presence known with a particularly loud slam of the door. He groaned displeasedly through gritted teeth as Ferus met his eye, then he dragged his feet back to the dining area and sat down, his hands clenched into fists.

“I can’t believe you did that!”

“Did what?” Ferus asked after casually taking a sip of his coffee.

“You know what! You embarrassed her and scared her off!” 

As much as Ferus didn’t want to admit it, but Anakin genuinely seemed hurt, and he felt responsible.

“Hey, I’m sure it’s not that bad,” he began as he attempted to comfort his roommate, “You know, she’s probably just running late for work or something,” Ferus speculated with a shrug, “Not everyone’s got a schedule as nice as yours, Mister ‘I start at twelve on a Thursday’.” A pause. “She’ll probably call you back later. Just relax.”

Anakin merely sighed in response. “It’s just- it’s hard. I _really_ like her, okay?” his voice had dropped in volume. “Now she won’t wanna see me again.”

At this point, Ferus had sat down at the place opposite Anakin, removing the noodle bowl from atop the second plate of pancakes. After all, he figured that nobody else was going to claim them, especially given the way that his roommate was only nibbling at his own. He tentatively cut into the stack and watched as a stream of maple syrup drizzled towards the bottom, making a pool at the edge of the plate. He raised a mouthful to his lips but couldn’t take his eyes off of Anakin, undoubtedly looking disappointed, and it didn’t make him feel as pleased as he’d expected. Most of what happened didn’t really turn out as planned. He especially didn’t expect for Anakin to be so emotionally invested in the woman already. It was all supposed to be a bit of fun, but it had gone quite awry.

“I highly doubt that me being a dick today is gonna negate all the great things about you, Anakin.”

He looked up from his food and sceptically raised an eyebrow.

“So you admit it; you were out of line?”

“Yes,” admitted Ferus, “I’m sorry.” He swallowed upon not receiving an answer. “I don’t expect you to forgive me right away. I messed up.”

Anakin averted his eyes once again, and Ferus noticed an awful feeling in his stomach. He knew it wasn’t the food. As much as he knew that he and his roommate were far from the best of friends, it didn’t mean that he enjoyed watching him be this upset. In fact, it was the last thing he wanted. 

“I was jealous,” Ferus found himself spewing out words without thinking, “The truth is, I’m crazy about you. I always have been, and … I just can’t stand it when you’re seeing other people.” Upon realising what he’d said, his dark eyes widened and a hand flew to cover his mouth. He desperately hoped that his cheeks were not reddening, but he could feel them growing warm. He suddenly wanted to be anywhere in the world but there, where he could feel Anakin’s eyes on him, he could see his facial expression twisting, his knife and fork gently being lowered towards the table.

He was on the verge of leaving his chair, the apartment, the building, until Anakin’s voice broke the silence.

“Ferus?” he asked, all traces of anger gone from his voice, “Really?”

It took a few seconds to process. His heart was hammering violently against his ribcage to the point where he felt that it would burst out of his body. His gaze darted towards the ground, his newly sweaty palms rubbing fervently against his trouser legs. Ferus licked his lips that were suddenly devoid of moisture, then closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. 

His head turned slowly towards Anakin once more, and he mustered a thin smile.

“Of course not, “he lied, “I’m just messing with you.”

There was no denying that Anakin saw straight through his facade. 

“Oh,” he sounded surprised, “alright.”

What could have been a devastatingly awkward silence was quickly broken by the sound of a buzzing mobile phone. Ferus’ facial features noticeably relaxed as his roommate stood from the table, but he couldn’t help but remain fixated on the puzzled expression that graced his brow. It was as if he really wasn’t expecting to hear from anyone, though Ferus was willing to bet money on exactly who had left a message.

“I bet you a solid fifty bucks that that’s her,” he called out from across the room, where Anakin was standing with the cell in his hand.

“It is, isn’t it?”

It was impossible for Anakin to hide his joy. The smile he gave him was unlike one he had ever seen. He wasn’t sure if it was the morning light seeping through the windows, or his infatuation, but it truly looked like his eyes were gleaming.

“I told you everything would be fine,” remarked Ferus offhandedly.

“Thank you for last night,” Anakin started reading the message aloud, “I had a great time, and I’m sorry I had to leave so abruptly. I would have loved to stay for breakfast, but I completely lost track of the time. I keep forgetting I start work at nine now and not nine thirty like before.” He looked up at Ferus and let out a laugh.

Ferus joined, knowing that he was right.

“Have a great day. I’ll call you tonight,” Anakin read, then lowered the phone from his line of sight, “and then she says some … _other stuff_.” 

His lips pursed and Ferus knew that he didn’t want or need to pry.

“I think I’d better go to work,” he announced as he rose from the table. He pushed in his chair, leaving the half-eaten pancakes as they were on the table, and turned to walk towards his door to gather his belongings.

Anakin appeared confused by the way his roommate had changed the subject so suddenly.

“Wait, don’t you have another hour until-”

“I just remembered that I’m behind on a lot of stuff. I should probably go in early,” he insisted.

“But-”

“Just-” Ferus stopped in his tracks and looked at Anakin, exasperated- “Okay?” 

He focused only on his own path after that, telling himself in his mind to only think exclusively about filling his bottle of water, about making sure he had enough money for both lunch and the subway, about the way Anakin seemed to be staring at him perplexed like he was the one who had done something wrong, when he’d done nothing of the sort. Ferus’ key to the apartment sat in a bowl by the front door, and the sound of his hand swirling around the metal clashed with that of Anakin saying his name. He mentally chastised himself for doing so, but he turned around to meet his gaze, almost too quickly.

“That movie you were talking about the other day,” he started, “It’s out now, isn’t it?”

Ferus furrowed his brow, surprised by the way the conversation had changed, but he welcomed it nonetheless.

“We should go,” Anakin suggested, flashing a warm smile, “Maybe tomorrow, or the next day.”

He felt his jaw drop slightly in shock. 

“Really?” he asked, knowing that his roommate’s taste in film was rather different to his own, “You wouldn’t mind?”

“Yeah, it’ll be good,” replied Anakin with a nod, “It’s the least I can do when you cooked all of that.” He chuckled lightly and then gestured beside him to the abandoned table setting, where two elaborately decorated, but half-eaten, plates of pancakes sat. They were still topped with strawberry slices set in a pattern, icing sugar dusted over them like snow. As much as it looked someone had raided and neglected the dining area, in a way, it still looked artful. 

“I’m eating all your leftovers, by the way,” he teased. It made Ferus smile. “Now, don’t overdo it at work, okay?” He stepped forward to pat his roommate on the shoulder, a look of mild concern showing across his features.

“ _Please_ ,” urged Ferus, “You’ve got nothing to worry about. I’ll see you later.”

Upon stepping out of the apartment, he let his back fall hard against the front door. He took in everything that he had just said and done, the senselessness of some of his actions, and the relief that came with getting certain words off of his chest. He wasn’t sure as to how he’d manage upon coming home for the night, knowing that Anakin would likely be whispering sweet nothings into his cell for hours on end. He didn’t know how he would sit through two and a half hours in a movie theatre with him, watching as the on-screen protagonists fell in love before their eyes, and couples around them undoubtedly started to hold each other, while he could do nothing. It was going to be hard watching Anakin fall in love with someone else, and he felt in his gut that it was love. He’d never seen him so excited, so generally emotional, about anything. He imagined that in the coming months, he would need to start looking for a new place to live.

But until then, there was one thing in which Ferus could take solace. There was one thing that could make him smile today.

Anakin really _did_ like his cooking.


End file.
